I just realized that I hadn't made a blog entry since I started working at PNC. My last blog entry occurred on the day before my teller training, and now I have been with PNC for almost two months!
Since I last blogged, undoubtably the biggest event in Bradley Athletics has been the hiring of Geno Ford, replacing Jim Les as the men's basketball coach. I'll be honest, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about college sports, and I had never heard of Geno Ford, who spent the three previous seasons as the head coach at Kent State, before he was hired at Bradley.
A lot of coaches with bigger names (Scott Sutton, Rob Jeter) were rumored to have interest in coaching the Braves, but in the end, Bradley made the proper selection. A coach like Sutton or Jeter just seemed like the type who would leave Bradley for something better. At 36, Ford really has the opportunity to leave his mark on the Bradley program and he clearly appreciates the fan base and the rich history of Bradley basketball. Ford has a great background both as a player and as a coach, unlike Les, the former Brave star guard who had virtually no coaching experience before landing the Bradley job.
In his previous job, Ford led Kent State to the past two regular-season Mid-American Conference championships, and was also the conference's Coach of the Year during the past two seasons. Impressively, Coach Ford led a team with 10 newcomers to earn their repeat championship and finished the season 25-12. Bradley, on the other hand, had one of their worst seasons in school history at 12-20. Of note, Bradley has not won a Missouri Valley Conference championship since 1996 (The Braves finished 4th in the MVC in 2006, Bradley's last run to the Sweet 16). Additionally, attendance at Carver Arena declined last season. In his press conference, Geno Ford promised to rejuvenate Bradley basketball with an up-tempo offense (which can hopefully yield promising recruits.
Personnel wise, some things have changed for Bradley during the off-season. Sam Maniscalco, who sat out this past season with a medical red-shirt, transferred to play at Illinois where he will be immediately eligible due to a graduate transfer rule. Maniscalco is a big loss, but he didn't factor into the past season and only has one year of eligibility left. Another scholarship was opened after Andrew Davis, seen as a project, asked for his scholarship release as well. Davis never played for the Braves. Remy Abell, viewed as Coach Les' best recruit, also requested a release from his scholarship following a meeting with Ford and assistant coach Willie Scott. Two of Les' other recruits, center Nate Wells and guard Donivine Stewart (from the Peoria area), have not rescinded from the Letters of Intent.
Last week, Coach Ford signed Jalen Crawford, the brother of two college stars, as his first recruit. Crawford, a combo guard, should get major minutes for the Braves this season.
Bradley has two remaining scholarships open, which are expected to be filled this weekend or next. On top of the wish list for Bradley: a point guard and a perimeter-shooting forward.
